I love this blog post (Chameleons) from Jill over at Walking With Drake about appearing to be “normal.”
[excerpt]
“…Somewhere along the way, we as a society have learned to see things a certain way. When we see something that is different, we don’t know how to respond to it. When society sees a six year old flapping his hands or squealing with excitement, they see a child who isn’t like their child. What they are missing is the joy. When they see a child totally overwhelmed by a situation, they choose to pass judgement on the parent. What they are missing is the flashing lights, the echos in the room, and the strong smells.
While I think therapy has been crucial in helping Drake be more comfortable in a world that doesn’t understand him, I never want him to think his normal isn’t okay. Normal is just a word in the dictionary. I think it’s time we all realize that normal has many different variations and learn to accept those variations instead of always searching for chameleons. ”
Jonah is so similar. For those that don’t recognize autism, they won’t SEE that he is autistic. They will only see that ‘unruly kid.’
So I’ll break this down to a “First/Then” statement we use to help Jonah in his therapy.
FIRST: understand what autism is. Be aware.
THEN: accept those who are autistic for who they are.
If you haven’t already found them, go show Drake some love at www.facebook.com/walkingwithdrake
-cheers!